History
If you want a tip as to which horse will end the season as Europe’s top sprinter, then look no further than Newmarket’s Darley July Cup.
One of the most valuable and prestigious sprints of the British Flat racing calendar, the July Cup has a record of attracting the best contenders.
Jockey Hayley Turner had cause to celebrate in 2011 as she became the second woman to win a British Group 1 race on board the David Simcock-trained Dream Ahead. Run over six furlongs (1,200 metres) of the July Course, the Darley July Cup is open to three-year-olds or older while in 2013 Lethal Force smashed the track record with a pillar-to-post victory. In 2014 Slade Power followed in Lethal Force’s footsteps, winning both the Diamond Jubilee and the Darley July Cup.
2020 saw a memorable victory for connections of Oxted. Not only was the victory a first Group 1 win for trainer Roger Teal, but it was also a first Group 1 for Cieren Fallon Jr – A race his father, Kieren Fallon, never managed to win in his illustrious career.
Queen Victoria may have been hard to amuse but the first two runnings of this race, in 1876-7, must have raised a faint smile. Both were won by Springfield, who was bred by the monarch.
Current leading jockeys: John Egan, Paul Hanagan and Adam Kirby – all 2 wins
Current leading trainers: Aidan O’Brien, 5 wins (1999, 2001, 2010, 2018, 2019).
Previous winners
Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Prize money |
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